Poronidulus conchifer

Scientific name:   Poronidulus conchifer (Schwein.)
Murrill
Derivation of name: conchifer means "shell bearing."
Synonymy:  Polyporus conchifer Schw.: Fr.; Trametes
conchifer (Schwein.) Pilat
Common names:   Little nest polypore.
Phylum:   Basidiomycota
Order:   Polyporales
Family:   Polyporaceae
Occurrence on wood substrate: Saprobic; in groups on
decaying deciduous wood; June through December.
Dimensions: Cups 0.5-2 cm wide; caps 1-5 cm wide.
Upper surface: Cups concentrically zoned, white and brown;
caps zoned with bands of white and grayish-white and pale
brown; radially wrinkled.
Pore surface: White to yellowish; pores 2-4 per mm.
Edibility: Inedible.
Comments: The cups may be found by themselves. They are
sterile and may be mistaken for a cup fungus or a bird's nest
fungus. If just the shelves are present, this fungus is difficult to
identify. The combination is distinctive.

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Figure 1. Trametes conchifer on wood. The cups are not
prominent in this photo. Note the yellowish pore surface of
the flipped-over specimen. Photo © Larry Grand.

Figure 2. Various combinations of cups and shelf-like caps are
visible in these specimens. Photo © Gary Emberger.

Figure 3. Sterile cups often form first and are typically
concentrically zoned. Photo © Tom Volk.

Figure 4. These cups are stalked. It's no wonder they are
mistaken for cup fungi. The cups function as splash cups
dispersing asexual propagules called oidia.
Photo © Gary Emberger.

Figure 5. This cap shows no evidence of a cup. Note the
faint zonation and radial wrinkles. Photo © Gary Emberger.

Figure 6. The underside of the shelf-like cap reveals the
pores of the fertile portion of the fungus. Photo © Gary
Emberger.

Figure 7. Just a little of the cup structure remains at the base
of the shelf. It's enough to identify the species with certainty.
Photo © Gary Emberger.

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